At the height of his career, Ike Taiga (1723-76) was one of the most famous painters in Japan. Yet in recent years, he has been eclipsed by contemporary Ito Jakuchu, a fellow Kyotoite with a much more eccentric style and personality. With “Ike Taiga: Landscape of Sunlight,” Idemitsu Museum of Arts director Sachiko Idemitsu hopes to restore Taiga to his rightful place in the public’s mind.
Idemitsu is also the curator of the exhibition, which is on view at the eponymous museum in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward until March 24. It is the first retrospective of Taiga’s work in Tokyo in 13 years and was long overdue.
Little predestined Taiga to become one of the most successful artists of his generation. He was born into a modest Kyoto farming family with little power or pelf. His father held a minor position, which gave him some standing, but he died when his son was only three. Still a toddler, Taiga’s future was at best uncertain.